Overview

• Fabiano Caruana enters the midpoint on 3.5/5 after drawing Wesley So, with R. Praggnanandhaa and Levon Aronian pursuing on 3 points.
• A complete slate of Round 5 draws kept the standings tight, including MVL–Praggnanandhaa, Firouzja–Aronian, Sevian–Abdusattorov, and Duda–Gukesh.
• Jan-Krzysztof Duda missed a winning continuation against world champion D. Gukesh, allowing their sharp battle to finish level.
• The chasing pack features Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, So, Alireza Firouzja, Sam Sevian, and Gukesh on 2.5, with Duda on 2 and Nodirbek Abdusattorov last on 1.
• Play resumes Sunday, August 24, with Caruana facing Sevian and key Grand Chess Tour points in play at the nine-round, $350,000 event.